Despite America’s agreement, the road is still long

The Biden administration waited until the G7 summit in Japan on Friday, May 19, to formally announce: It would no longer oppose the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. In addition, Washington will participate in pilot training, which will last several months at European bases. At this point, Washington has not decided to supply Kyiv with F-16s from its own fleet. On the other hand, by facilitating the acquisition of US F-35s, the US could encourage some NATO allies to abandon them.

Since the start of the Russian-led war, Kyiv has sought to upgrade its dated and unsophisticated fleet of Soviet fighters. But Russian superiority in this area remained intact. Poland was the first NATO member to decide to deliver four Mig-29 aircraft to its neighbor on March 16, following Slovakia. America’s green light makes it possible to imagine a change in scale. In a tweet, Volodymyr Zelensky praised “Historic End” As a favor “International Fighter Alliance”. The alliance was announced by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte during a meeting in London on May 16.

On the first anniversary of the war, in late February, Joe Biden was asked about the F-16s on ABC. Mr. He explained that Zelensky had no one “need”. “I’ll leave it at that for now”, Regarding the possible delivery of these devices, Mr. Added Biden. The administration has continued to push back the red line of what it considers acceptable, in terms of military cooperation with Kiev, without risking a confrontation with Russia and a conflict that could erupt beyond Ukrainian borders. In fact, Washington made several points.

Interwoven military and political concepts

The first turn was on the Himars guided missile systems starting in the summer of 2022. In late December, during Volodymyr Zelensky’s surprise visit to Washington, the administration also announced the delivery of a Patriot missile battery vital to anti-aircraft defenses. Security. In January, the Pentagon confirmed that Ukrainian soldiers would be trained to use the system. But at the end of January, an announcement was made for the delivery of 31 M1 Abrams tanks. The decision would not take effect on the ground for several months, but it helped lift the embargo on Germany, which agreed to supply the Panther tanks.

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